Portable adjustable reader&#39;s desk



April 2, 1935. s. s. cooK PORTABLE ADJUSTABLE READERS DESK Filed ont." 22, 19:54

IN VEN TOR. I Seymour S Cook d( 863W ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 2, 1935A l UNITED STATES F'A'i'hlitl'if OFFICE 'f i PORTABLE AoJUsTABLE nEADEasDEsK y Seymour S. Cook, San Diego, Calif.

Application oetberfzz, 1934, serial m4749398 1o claims. (ci. 4.5-80) My invention relates to a readers desk that is portable and adjustable, and theobjects of my invention are: 'l f n First, to provide a desk in whichy several books, 5 papers, notes and'thelike may be placed in View of the reader and may be adjusted to a suitable' height for the greatest convenience;

Second, to provide a desk of this class Ywith novel means for raising and lowering the main portion of the desk and'holding it in'varied raised or lowered positions; A Y.

Third, to provide a desk of this class in which the desk is made in two telescoping sections with' simple means for shiftingthe one section relatively to the other upwardly or downwardly;

Fourth, to provide a desk of'l this class in which the reading portion of the desk may be increased or decreased in size and width;

Fifth, to'provide a desk of this class with an extended portion for holding notes or an extra book at the front portion;

Sixth, to provide a desk of this class which is very compact and may be folded closely for shipping or transportation; and

Seventh, to provide a desk of this class which is very simple and economical of construction, easy to operate, eflicient in its action, and which will not readily deteriorate or get out of order;

With these and other objects in View as will ap- 30" pear hereinafter, my invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts andportions as will be hereinafter ydescribed in detail'and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference beinghad 35' to the accompanying drawing and to the characters ofref'erence thereon which form a part of this application, in which:

Figure l is a front side elevational view-of my desk showing one of they book supporting members folded on to the main portion and the other one opened up and showing a portion broken away and in section to facilitate: the illustration; Fig. 2 is an end view from the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view from the line 3 3v of Fig. ll shown on a reduced scale and showing'some of theparts in elevation to facilitatethe illustration; Fig. 4 is an enlargedl fragmentary sectional view through 4 4 of. 2, and Fig.- 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view throughA 5-5 of Fig. 1.

` The desk consists of.' a lower base member l, supporting rod 2. upper elevating member 3, main desk portion 4, ledge 5, extension aps 6 and l, and fold back leafV 8'.

The lower base member I is a rectangular hol- 55 low box-shaped member open at its upper side. It

whichv extends through a hole in the rod 2 andV is provided in its opposite ends with zig-zag slots ia which are positioned in reverse relation to 1 each other and each is provided with horizontal slot portions Ib, le, ld, le and if and with vertical slot 'portions Ig, lh, Ii, ly" and llc. At the 5 lower side of each vertical slot portion is porvided a small downwardly formed portion In, all as shown best in Fig. 2 of the drawing. These downwardly formed' portions are toprovide delinite positions for therod 2 to rest in at the opposite ends of-the member l in which this rod 2 is positioned.v The rod .2 is provided with knobsra in its Opposite ends to facilitate shifting the same upon its pivotal axis which is a cotter pin'b 15 up through the bottom 3a. of the upperelevating member 3, shown best in Fig; 5 of the drawing, the cotter pin being spread as shown. Thus thef rod 2 may be shifted in the horizontal slots toV aline with the vertical portions yand then the member 3 lowered to rest inthe lower `form por--4 tions in the slot la, the slots la being reversed to provide for the reverse movement of the opposite ends of the rod so that when one end of the rod 2 is moved in the slot la the other end will 25' move in the opposite direction until they reach a position sothat the member 3 may be lowered or raised as desired relative to the member l. The member 3 is shaped -to conform tothe member i and telescope therein withsuicient clearance to permit ready .upward and downward movement of the member 3 in the member I. Thus the vmember 3 may be raised and lowered relative to the member l to 'various positions as desired by the'shifting of the rod 2 in the slots 35 la at the opposite ends of the member l as hereinbefore described. This member 3 is also hollow to provide alight shiftable member and its upperV end is positioned on an incline, as shown best in Fig. 2 of the drawing, and the lower edge is provided with a ledge 5 which extends slightly above v the side of the lower edge'of the member ll whichv forms the main desk portion and serves for holding books or the like from slipping oif the inclined member ll.

Hinged at the opposite end of the member# are additional desk flap members 6 and l which are adapted tofold up over the member 4 and'rest flatly thereon toform the desk surface when in its narrower form.y `The member 'l is shown folded on to the member 4in Fig. l, while the mem-A ber 5 is shown in its unfolded position.V VThis practically doubles the length of the book shelf when the aps 5 vand v'l are both in unfolded position. i y

Hinged on the upper back edge of the member 4 is a leaf 8 which is adapted to fold back against the back side of the desk when it is desired to use the same or may be positioned in alinement with the desk member 4, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, and supported by means of longitudinally shiftable supports 8a one near each end. These supports 8a are supported in brackets 8b which are secured on the lower surface of the member 4, as shown best in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawing.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions, I do not wish to be limited to this particular construction, combination and arrangement but desire to include in the scope of my invention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a portable adjustable reading desk, a hollow rectangular base member open at its upper side, a conforming elevating member telescopically mounted therein, a rod pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the bottom of said elevating member and extending into zig-zagv slots in the ends of said base member. I

2. In a portable adjustable reading desk, a hollow rectangular base member open at its upper side, Aa conforming elevating member telescopically mounted therein, a rod pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the bottom of said elevating member and extending into zig-zag slots in the ends of said base member, said slots having horizontal and vertical portions, each vertical portion terminating in a low formed rod supporting portion.

3. In a portable-adjustable reading desk, a hollow rectangular base member open at its upper side, a conforming elevating member telescopically mounted therein, a rod pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the bottom of said elevating member and extending into zig-zag slots in the ends of said base member, said slots having horizontal and vertical portions, each vertical portion terminating in a low formed rod supporting portion, said elevating member having an inclined book support formed on its upper side.

4. In a portable adjustable reading desk, a hollow rectangular base member open at its upper side, a conforming elevating member telescopically mounted therein, a rod pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the bottom of said elevating member and extending into zig-zag slots in the ends of said base member, said slots having horizontal and vertical portions, each vertical portion terminating in a low formed rod supporting portion, said elevating member having an inclined book support formed on its upper side, and a ledge positioned at the lower edge of said inclined book support portion.

5. In a portable adjustable reading desk, a hollow rectangular base member open at its upper side, a conforming elevating member telescopically mounted therein, a rod pivotally V mounted intermediate its ends on the bottom of said elevating member and extending into zigzag slots in the ends of said base member, said slots having horizontal and vertical portions, each vertical portion terminating in a low formed rod 1 supporting portion, said elevating member having an inclined book support formed on its upper side, and additional hinged flap portions adapted to extend over the inclined book support portion and form the desk when folded and also adapted to ,be unfolded for increasing the length of said desk.

6. In a portable adjustable reading desk, a hollow rectangular base member open at its upper side, a conforming elevating member telescopically mounted therein, a rod pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the bottom of said elevating member and extending into zig-zag slots in the end of said base member, said slots having horizontal and vertical portions, each vertical portion terminating in a low formed rod supporting portion, said elevating member having an inclined book support formed on its upper side, and a leaf hinged at the upper edge centrally of said book supporting portion adapted to fold down against the back side of said elevating member, and means supported on the lower surface of said book supporting member adapted to be shifted for supporting said ledge in an upward position.

7. In a portable adjustable reading desk, a hollow rectangular base member open at its upper side, a conforming elevating member telescopically mounted therein, a rod pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the bottom of said elevating member and extending into zigzag'slots in the ends of said base member, said slots having horizontal and vertical portions, each vertical portion terminating in a low formed rod supporting portion, said elevating member having an inclined book support formed on its upper side, and additional hinged iiap portions adapted to extend over the inclined book support portion and form the desk when folded and also adapted to be unfolded for increasing the length of said desk, and a leaf hinged at the upper edge centrally of said book supporting portion adapted to fold down against the back side of said elevating member, and means supported on the lower surface of said book supporting member adapted to be shifted for supporting said ledge in an upward position.

8. In a portable adjustable reading desk, a hollow base member an elevating desk member telescopically mounted therein, a rod pivotally mounted centrally on said elevating member and extending outwardly through zig-zag slots in said base member, said slots being reversed as to position at the opposite ends of said rod.

9. In a portable adjustable reading desk, a hollow base member, an elevating desk member telescopically mounted therein, a rod pivotally mounted centrally on said elevating member and extending outwardly through zig-zag slots in said base member, said slots being reversed as to position at the opposite ends of said rod, said zig-zag slots comprising a plurality of horizontal portions and a plurality of vertical portions.

l0. In a portable adjustable reading desk, a hollow base member, an elevating desk member telescopically mounted therein, a rod pivotally mounted centrally on said elevating member and extending outwardly through zig-zag slots in said base member, said slots being reversed as to position at the opposite ends of said rod, said zig-zag slots comprising a plurality of horizontal portions and a plurality of vertical portions, each of said vertical portions being provided with downwardly extending rod supporting portions.

SEYMOUR S. COOK. 

